Upcoming census a sign of Jordan’s stability — PM

AMMAN — The information the public will provide for the 2015 population census will not entail any obligations on their part, Prime Minister Abdullah Ensour said Saurday.

During a visit to the Department of Statistics (DoS), the second in less than two months, Ensour stressed that the population tally aims at identifying every single person residing in the Kingdom at the time of its implementation, including refugees, diplomats and tourists, even if they are visiting the Kingdom for just one night. 

The premier, who chaired the meeting of the 2015 census higher committee, said the process of collecting information from each household will take around 15 minutes, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

“We are a civilised nation,” Ensour said. “While we are planning for a population census, organising our economy and planning our country’s future, some of our brothers — unfortunately — are busy shedding each other’s blood.”

He added that this is a testament to the awareness of the Jordanian people and leadership, embodied by the peace that Jordan has been blessed with, Petra reported.

Around 25,000 DoS employees and teachers are taking part in the census to collect the necessary information, according to Petra. 

Planning and International Cooperation Minister Imad Fakhoury said the census begins on November 30 and continues until December 10, Petra reported. 

According to the 2012 amendments to the 1950 General Statistics Law, a population and housing census is to be conducted every 10 years. 

The last census was carried out in 2004, putting the total number of the Kingdom’s population at 5.1 million.

According to the Interior Ministry, Jordan’s population is estimated to have reached around 8 million by 2015, but other unofficial figures indicate that the population of Jordan stands at nearly 9 million, including 2.5 million foreigners.